Tag: female

  • Pink taxis for women in Sindh

    The Sindh government is all set to launch a “Pink Taxi Service” featuring electric cars for facilitating female citizens of the province.

    The development was announced by Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon.

    The minister said that initially, 200 electricity-powered taxis will start operating in Karachi, of which fifty will be women-only taxis driven by female drivers. He said that the hiring of female drivers and setting up of charging and parking depots is yet to be done.

    He said that the project will also provide job opportunities to unemployed youth, while eco-friendly taxis will save oil worth billions of rupees.

    Prior to this, the government also launched a pink bus service for women which is being frequented by a large number of female commuters.

  • Five times when female politicians told the patriarchy to sit down and shut up

    Five times when female politicians told the patriarchy to sit down and shut up

    The time when patriarchal societies used to dictate to women is long gone. In the past, we witnessed how difficult it was for women to rule in a man’s world because of casual sexism. However, now things have changed. Women know how to stand up for themselves.

    In honour of International Women’s Day, let’s rewind to the times when women leaders told the patriarchy to sit down and shut up.

    1- First Muslim World Female Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

    At the top of the list, we have former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who became the very first woman to hold the position in the Muslim world. At 35, she was also one of the youngest chief executives in the world. As prime minister, she was often referred to as the “Iron Lady of Pakistan” for her uncompromising approach to negotiating with unions. During her first tenure, she was removed by then-President Ghulam Ishaq Khan but was elected again by her people. She won the hearts of many with her courageous and empowering speeches at a time when politics were male-dominated and no one would have thought that Pakistan would elect a woman to lead the country.

    2- Sherry Rehman at her wittiest best

    If you want a guide or need tips on how to deal with the misogyny that exists even in Pakistan’s Senate, you need to watch Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman.

    Last year, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani called Rehman the “Senate’s dadi (grandmother)”. To this, casual sexism, she responded by saying: “I would advise you to only ask specific questions so that Sherry Rehman, who is the dadi of this House, can give you the right answers.”

    3- Take notes from Jacinda Ardern

    In December, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern shut down a male journalist for asking a misogynist question when she was hosting Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

    The journalist asked, “A lot of people will be wondering: ‘Are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and have got a lot of common stuff there — when you got into politics and stuff — or can Kiwis actually expect to see more deals between our two countries down the line?”

    Ardern interrupted the question to say that she wondered “Whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age.”

    Well, this is how you deal with misogyny!

    4- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fires back

    Now, we bring you US Congress Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez excoriating her Republican colleague, Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida, after he verbally attacked her on the steps of the Capitol and used a sexist slur overheard by a reporter, calling her a “fucking bitch,” then issued a non-apology from the House floor. Later, on the floor, Alexandria said: “My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”

      5- Hina Rabbani’s bold move

      Last year in November, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar went to meet the Taliban government in Afghanistan which is famously notorious for its mistreatment of women and its denial of women’s rights. The arrival of a woman to hold talks with the government proved to be such a powerful move. Netizens couldn’t help but root for Khar, deeming it a boss move to have a woman represent Pakistan, especially before a government as stuck in the stone age as the Taliban.

    • Meet Alishba Mohsin, Pakistan’s first female apprentice jockey at 18

      Meet Alishba Mohsin, Pakistan’s first female apprentice jockey at 18

      Alishba Mohsin has made history by becoming the first Pakistani female apprentice jockey at the age of 18. She participated in the Imtiaz Memorial Cup in Lahore and got the sixth position.

      Alishba was trained by Mohammad Kamal in the Imtiaz Memorial Cup race.

      The race was won by Zaman Sahib during Sunday’s (October 10) Lahore Winter Meeting action at the Racecourse Club.

      Lahore Race Club chairman, Makhdum Syed Ahmad Mahmud, lauded Alishba for her participation in the race and awarded her with a cash prize of Rs 30,000.

      The guests and the members gave the young girl a standing ovation for her amazing strength and effort.

      Alishba joined the Lahore Race Club at the age of 13. She had to stop her participation due to her studies. The young jockey later rejoined the Race Club after four years and now she plans to become a professional jockey.

    • Federal Directorate of Education bans jeans for male, female teachers

      The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) on Monday has ordered female teachers not to wear jeans and tights and barred male teachers from wearing jeans and t-shirts, Dawn reported.

      All principals have been asked to ensure that their teaching and non-teaching staff (both male and female) have personal hygiene, including regular haircut, beard trimming, nail cutting and use of perfume.

      The FDE released a letter directing the principals of schools and colleges to ensure the implementation of the dress code and personal hygiene of the staff.

      The letter issued by the director academics stated: “All heads of institutions/section in-charges shall ensure that every staff member observes reasonably good measures in their physical appearance and personal hygiene.”

      Read More: Bahawal Victoria Hospital bans jeans, bangles, rings in hospital premises

      This includes regular haircut, beard trimming, nail cutting, shower and use of deodorants/perfume. The letter stated gatekeepers must wear uniforms and all the support staff may also be allocated a uniform.

      “It is recommended that all teaching staff must wear teaching gown while teaching in the class and lab coats while taking practical periods in laboratories,” the letter said, adding that the non-teaching staff must be presentable and neat, clean and properly ironed clothes and appropriate shoes.

      The letter mentioned a formal dress for females, which includes: “Appropriate simple and decent shalwar qameez, trouser, shirt with dupatta/shawl. Purdah observing females are allowed to wear scarf/hijab while ensuring its clean and neat appearance. Wearing of jeans and tights are not allowed in any case. Only formal shoes (pumps, loafers and mules) are allowed. Owing to long-standing hours during teaching, comfortable shoes like sneakers and sandals can be worn as well. But wearing of slippers is not allowed at all.”

      During the winter season, coats, blazers as well as sweaters, jerseys, cardigans and shawls of decent colours and design are allowed.

      For male staff, the letter said: “Wear appropriate, simple and decent shalwar qameez preferably with waistcoat in accordance with the weather conditions. Wear dress shirt (full sleeves preferably with tie) and trousers (dress and cotton pants only). Wearing jeans is not allowed in any case. During the summer, a half sleeves dress shirt or bush shirt can also be worn but t-shirts of all types are not allowed.”

      “Only formal shoes (dress shoes, loafers, moccasins and boots) must be worn and owing to longstanding hours during teaching comfortable shoes like sneakers and sandals can be worn as well. However, wearing of slippers is not allowed at all,” the letter said.

      It said for males, wearing shalwar qameez with waistcoat, pant and shirt with tie (preferably jacket/coat) was mandatory.

      For females, event-appropriate decent dress (shalwar qameez, trouser, shirt) with dupatta/shawl must be observed. “Fancy/party dresses in official gatherings/meetings are discouraged,” added the letter.

    • Huda Kattan does not want to endorse unrealistic beauty standards

      Billionaire make-up mogul Huda Kattan has urged people to stop using photoshop and look beyond unrealistic beauty standards by sharing an over-edited version of a picture from the campaign of her newly launched beauty line GloWish to show what the picture would have looked like after editing.

      “We’ve had ENOUGH of the over-editing, photoshop and not showing enough realness!!! So we thought we’d look in the mirror and start with ourselves,” she wrote in the caption of the post.

      “Here is a not so, ‘perfect’ photo from our GloWish campaign shoot and I thought it would be really interesting to show you guys what it would have looked like had we chosen to photoshop and try to sell unrealistic beauty expectations,” she added.

      Huda Kattan has launched a third beauty line entitled GloWish which consists of everyday makeup essentials.

      Earlier, this year in April she said that she has “had enough” of filters and photo editing, as they have warped modern beauty standards into something “unrealistic”.

      In 2018, Pakistani superstar Mahira Khan requested  Zara Shahjahan to not photoshop her pictures from the shoot as she endorses the idea of embracing natural beauty standards.

    • All women crew conducts first spacewalk of 2020

      All women crew conducts first spacewalk of 2020

      The second spacewalk in history was conducted by a team of all-women astronauts at the International Space Station on Wednesday morning.

      NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch replaced batteries on solar arrays on the outside of the International Space Station during the first spacewalk of 2020.

      The same astronauts made history after completing the very first all-female spacewalk in October. That came months after a planned spacewalk with an all-women crew had to be cancelled in March because of lack of suitable spacesuits.

      These will be the second and third spacewalks for Meir
      and the fifth and sixth for Koch. NASA said Wednesday’s spacewalk is the 225th
      conducted at the International Space Station.

    • CAA introduces new policy to encourage female pilots

      CAA introduces new policy to encourage female pilots

      Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced to empower women under the new Aviation Policy 2019 as the institution will bear half expenses of under training female pilots.

      The spokesperson of CAA said the institution will bear 50% expenses of female trainee pilots. The allowance will be given to the female pilots who have completed 100 hours of flying. The authority will directly provide the funds to the training institutions.

      Earlier in May last year, CAA had exempted aeronautical charges on domestic flights under a new aviation policy.

      The decision will advantage domestic flight operators
      including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as the aviation authority has
      zeroed aircraft landing charges on private airlines as well.

      In addition, the charges for parking, boarding, power supplies and terminal navigation, were also ended up. According to CAA spokesperson, the national flag-carrier’s profit will increase up to 70% after the suspension of charges and flight operators will be able to save Rs 4 billion annually.

    • KP Police to train female commandos

      KP Police to train female commandos

      For the first time in history, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to hire female police commandos that are presently being trained to fight militancy in the province.

      As per reports, around 35 female police commandos are undergoing training at the Nowshera police training center. Officials have said that KP Inspector General Police Nasir Durrani felt that female police commandos should be included in the force and decided to give them special training.

      The same training will be given to female commandos that is imparted to elite force male members in the province and will be able to confront all kinds of challenges, including the fight against militants.

      More female commandos will be trained for KP police once the first batch joins the police.

      Talking to a news outlet Musarrat Bibi — a commando under training — said, “I wanted to join the group because I wanted to tell the world that women in K-P could also obtain commando training and fight terrorism.”